Final Countdown

As the trip draws nearer, we check more and more things off of our task lists and packing lists and grow more and more excited. We keep remembering things that would be useful to have and then we debate how we can pack even lighter than we did last year.

Last year, we worked on taking things with us that we could abandon along the way, like hotel bottles of shampoo and conditioner, etc., counting out vitamins so we can abandon vitamin bottles over there, etc. leaving lighter luggage as we go and room for souvenirs. It worked really well, so we're doing it again this year. Also, we've tried to figure out what clothes can do double or triple duty so we have less unnecessary or single use clothes. It's a challenge to no over pack, but we improve each time, our suitcases get smaller, and we love a good challenge. Europe, get ready, you're about to have some of Bill's old underwear!

Since we're flying over U.S. airspace, Air Canada required further information from us. Bill dealt with that yesterday, as I was flitting around the house throwing items into various random piles. The cat wore a look of great suspicion as he traversed the house, regarding the suitcases and piles of stuff in various rooms with evident displeasure. He definitely knows what's happening. He just doesn't know when it's happening.

I wonder who the cat is on the phone with? He doesn't look pleased.

We called our credit card companies and banks to tell them we'd be away. Strangely, one of the banks didn't even want to know if a customer was travelling (that's what the website said). We both thought this odd, so I called to make sure and they said that they use different fraud monitoring now, so they don't need to know when someone travels. We thought that this was strange, but I guess it's up to them what kind of risks they want to take, since they're insuring our accounts. They assured me that the cards wouldn't suddenly be cut off in Europe. But who knows (the recovering lawyer inside me can't help but come up with catastrophic scenarios).

Tomorrow is our final day in Canada, as we fly out on Wednesday to Amsterdam. Stay tuned for our next post.

This cashmere blanket is mine. Do not dare try to take it away from me.

July 1, 2015- The Long Journey Home CDG to SEA to YYJ

We Clean Eric's Apartment, Pack, and Have Our Last French Breakfast at Home, We Catch a Taxi to the CDG Airport in "Catostrophique" Traffic, We Have Lunch at the Airport, We Fly CDG to SEA on Delta (Operated by Air France), We Kill Time in SEA and Bill Transforms into a Fruit Bat, We Fly Alaska/Horizon from SEA to YYJ, We Take a Taxi Home, We Pick up our Cat, Lamont, We Sleep

We were up early on Canada Day to finish our packing, dress, eat, clean up Eric's apartment, and catch our taxi to the CDG airport. Eric met us at 8:30 when the taxi he had called for us was there to pick us up from his place. We gave him back the keys and put our suitcases into the cab.

The cab driver was funny she called the traffic "catastrophique" as we tried to get to the airport. She ended up having to U-turn and take another route due to some road closure or accident. It wasn't clear what it was, but people were getting out of their cars and walking around, craning their necks to figure out why traffic was not moving, a strange spectacle.

We made it to the airport in about one hour. We checked in for our flight, went through border control (this time the EU lineup took longer than the non-EU lineup- note to self, use other passport when exiting Europe), went through security, and then went and found lunch. We ate a fine sandwich and pastry (Mmm lemon tart and rhubarb pastry! Imagine if you found something delectable like that in a Canadian airport, flying might not be such a chore anymore . . .) from Paul (we had eaten there once before in Paris in the Louvre when we had a snack) and then found our gate.

Bill woke up two mornings ago with a cold and was doing poorly by this point. April was still really congested and feeling awful from the cold.

This time we did not wait until the last minute to board the plane, so we'd have overhead compartment space to put our carry-on bags unlike on the way over when they were so full that we could only stash one bag and had to keep the other under our seats.

This flight we had two seats by themselves, with no one across the aisle and no one behind us. April had the window. We were right by the bathrooms which was sometimes annoying, but convenient for such a long flight and with both April and Bill in a dreadful, dripping state and sorely in need of Kleenex frequently.

We tried to stay awake to get on local time, but since we were both so exhausted from the trip and sick, we kept dozing off and then starting awake. Top marks to Delta for being cheery and friendly, but the food is dreadful (but there's a lot of it! We're talking snack, meal, meal, meal for a 9.5 hour flight)). We had half of a baguette, croissants, and a pain au chocolat with us from our local bakery, so we offset some of the abysmal food with these treats.

About nine and a half hours later we arrive in SEA-TAC. We had to go through U.S. Customs (the border guard made a joke about how could we be tired when we were Hepburns in Paris- it's just so natural, we should be in our element), pick up our suitcases, put them on another conveyor belt, and then go through security again (this time with shoes off.) Security pissed at Bill and April for not removing dirty Kleenexes from their pockets before going through the scanner and the security woman took it as an excuse to feel up April. No surprises there, April is always picked on in security for some strange reason.

We went and found our revised gate and planted. Bill was really doing badly and did not want to even eat dinner, but April said he had to eat something. He then made a request for fruit salad or maybe pineapple (oh yeah, that's easy in an airport), or fruit only and perhaps some fruit juice to wash it all down. It was clear to April that Bill had suddenly transformed from human to fruit bat on the plane perhaps as a result of jumping nine time zones all in one go.  April went out and foraged for a fruit only dinner for Bill and was fortunately able to find a fruit salad with pineapple in it and fresh squeezed orange juice.

We boarded our Alaska/ Horizon flight to Victoria at 7:40 PM. We were careful through each take off and landing to suck on candies to avoid barotrauma of our ears since we both had bad colds (April got this coming back from Las Vegas one year- you don't want it- trust her).

We arrived in Victoria ahead of schedule at 8:07 P.M.. We collected our suitcases which both made it and then went through Canadian customs. We acquired a taxi and took it home watching the Canada revelers catching buses downtown.

We went out to pick up our treasured cat, Lamont, from April's cousin who kindly took care of him for three weeks, and then we returned home to crash just before 10:00 PM.

4.37 km walked today.

Waiting to board at CDG airport in Paris

Goodbye last baguette

June 26, 2015- Musee D'Orsay, L'Orangerie, Tour of Paris by Boat on La Seine

Breakfast at Home, Lunch at the Musee D'Orsay, Enjoying Works of Art by the Impressionists at the Musee D'Orsay and L'Orangerie, A Note on Ignoramuses, Ice Cream on Pont Neuf, Tour of Paris by Boat, Dinner at Home with Properly Cooked Eggs for a Change

Today was yet another late start as we continued to be run down and exhausted from the cruise and then our long sightseeing day in Paris the previous day. April was still getting agonizing stomach cramps after each meal even though she was done her course of antibiotics for her severe food poisoning from the cruise.

We had breakfast at home again with fresh bread and croissants from the bakery and French yoghurt and cheese. The Livarot cheese was so fragrant that even after finishing it, the package was stinking up the whole apartment and had to be disposed of. Delicious but makes you wonder . . .

We took the metro to the Musee D'Orsay and started with lunch in the cafe overlooking the Seine River. The Nicoise like salad that April had could have been better, but after the cruise, she felt grateful for even a mediocre salad.

The Musee D'Orsay has Impressionist paintings and it was jam-packed with people. There were lots of Americans around snapping photos of the paintings and commenting on them in twangy accents (music to our ears after that cruise). In particular at the Musee D'Orsay, Bill and April enjoyed the Manet (not Monet, but he's swell too), Renoir, Van Gogh, and Gauguin. There was so much talent on display and many of the underappreciated artists were just as good as the celebrated ones. Fame is fickle.

We walked over to the Tuilleries again where L'Orangerie (the old orange growing building of the king) is. It has further Impressionist works including Monet's water lily panels. We were more interested in further Renoir paintings and Derain whose paintings are gorgeous.

Unfortunately, both galleries were packed with people and it was hard to move around and in some cases even glimpse the paintings. Also, a large group of twenty something year old men in the Musee D'Orsay laughing, making very loud rude comments, cat calling, and all posing together for pictures in front of a nude female painting ("L'Origine du Monde" or "The Origin of the World" by Gustave Courbet) made us feel chagrined. If those men have mothers (seems possible they were just raised by wolves) they should understand where babies come from. It is our hope that they will not find anyone to breed with. In some ways it felt as if more than half the people had just been dumped into the galleries without any interest in art and were just there because they felt they had to be, someone dragged them there, or that it would make them look cultured (it did not).

Feeling fortunate enough to have witnessed so much beauty over the last two days, we left L'Orangerie, grabbed a "natural" ice cream at a cart in the Tuilleries and then crossed the Pont Neuf again (the bridge with all the padlocks locked to it where people throw the key in La Seine to show their everlasting love for each other).

We walked up La Seine looking for a river tour and found a Batobus terminal (Saint-Germain-Des-Pres). For those familiar with the Bateau Mouches, this is the same sort of tour of Paris on La Seine river. Our pass gave us unlimited hop on and hop off ability for the entire day. We took the entire circle tour, going up as far north as the Botanical Gardens, through nine different stops, the furthest south being the mini Statue of Liberty, and then ended at the stop before the one we started at, the Musee D'Orsay stop. Being tired (April was falling asleep sitting up on the tour like a narcoleptic), we decided to end the tour.

We took the metro home and were so tired that we decided to eat dinner at home. Bill prepared scrambled eggs. To have properly cooked eggs was such a treat and a taste of home.

 It was 32 degrees Centigrade today and though it was sticky hot out in Paris, the apartment was cool and we slept well after walking 10 kilometres.

Bill awaits his lunch in the cafe in the Musee D'Orsay

April admiring Renoir at the Musee D'Dorsay

Renoir knew all about cat love

April at the Musee D'Orsay

Kissing selfie on the Pont Neuf (lock bridge)

More Renoir at the L'Orangerie

River tour revealed all sorts of delights like gold leaf bridges and the Statue of Liberty